Prompt #12: Travelers meet dozens, if not hundreds, of new people on every trip. They may become friends, enemies, lovers, and resources; they may stay in your life forever or be forgotten the next day. Tell about a time you felt a powerful connection – for however long – to another person while traveling.

“The great difference between voyages rests not with the ships, but with the people you meet on them.” –Amelia E. Barr

Solo travel makes you much more apt to meet strangers. It’s one of the fun things about travel, as the saying goes you might be traveling solo, but you’re never alone. I met so many interesting people on my RTW trip — from the people you spend an afternoon with and never see again, to the backpackers you just keep running into throughout a country, to people who you identify as “your people”.

One memorable friendship that I made on the road water, was with a couple from Toronto, Dave and Andrea. I had decided to take a small group sailing adventure from Mykonos to Santorini. After not finding any cheap lodging on Mykonos (I’d been paying $30/night at a pension in Naxos), I decided to just arrive straight to the designated meeting point. I arrived to the taverna about two hours early since my ferry was also early and started chatting with a Canadian couple who were also waiting to meet their sailing group. I was immediately excited that I’d be spending the next week with people who seemed just my style. Over the next two hours more late 20s to 30-somethings (couples and solo travelers) arrived and we all got to chatting. Then the two captains arrived. One of the captains said “Who’s sailing from here to Athens?” and all the people I’d just met raised their hands. The second captain said “and who’s heading for Santorini?” and myself and some random couples scattered around the taverna raised their hands. My heart sank, as I’d been traveling really solo for three weeks (spending my time reading, pedaling around the islands, tavernas, pubs, chatting with locals, afternoons at the cafes, windsurfing lessons… it’d been great, but I hadn’t met a lot of other travelers or spent much time with English speakers especially since it was getting to be end of season in the Cyclades.)

Needless to say, I was really looking forward to hanging out with people who seemed like “my people”; and the older couple, young standoffish couple in the corner, and random group of three, did NOT seem like my people.

I bid farewell to my new friends of an hour as we arrived at the marina. After putting our packs onboard and meeting everyone, we headed into town for dinner, and I was mentally preparing myself for a very long week.

Fast forward 4 days and I learned that the retired couple had a great sense of humor, the standoff-ish couple from Toronto were just in the corner because Andrea had thrown up almost the entire way on the ferry from Crete to Mykonos that afternoon, and the other group of three ended up being kind of odd ducks (a ‘club’ I’m well familiar with), and the German captain was kind of a nut who wandered about in his skivvies, but we had become a little family during our one week sailing adventure. Turns out I had a lot in common with Dave and Andrea, so they became my default people to hang out with from exploring a new island to listening to tunes on the top deck, to jumping off the boat enroute to Ios for a swim, and renting a car together to drive around Santorini after the sailing trip was over.

As we sat as a group on our 2nd to last night on the sailboat in the port of Ios, drinking champagne to toast a birthday, waiving to the Russian mega-yacht to our left and chatting to a group of sailing friends to our right, I was reminded how you don’t always get to pick your companions, and even if you could, you’d probably select ‘wrong’ half the time. I unexpectedly found ‘my people’ in a group I’d quickly stereotyped, and had a memorable trip, which just added more to all the reasons I love Greece!

Have you made any surprise friendships on the road?

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My second sailing experience was in Greece. The boat was much smaller and we actually had to help out, which was really fun! However, we didn’t get a lot of sailing time in because of the weather was so mild in the Mediterranean. I still want to take a sailing class and learn to sail a little boat. I think I’ll put that on my next 101 Things in 1,001 Days list!

1. Photography: Greece is just one big photo op. It’s seriously hard to take a bad picture in Greece. The Mediterranean and whitewashed buildings with blue doors, combined with sunlight and sunsets, make the Cyclades islands a prime photography destination.
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2. Beaches: With 6,000 islands in Greece (only 227 inhabited) you’re sure to find at least one to your liking: red sand, black sand, white sand, crowded, desolate, nude… The only type of beach that Greece doesn’t have is one that requires wearing a top. Beware ladies, old American & Canadian men with telephoto lenses abound on Santorini (they’re on Mykonos too, but who am I kidding, they wouldn’t be taking our photos).
3. Ferries: Transportation between the islands in Greece is fantastic. With the addition of high speed ferries several years ago, there always seems to be a ferry arriving or departing. While some people bemoan the slow standard ferries, they are the perfect slow travel option when you have no where to be, sunning on the open top deck.
4. Sailing: Sailing the Med sounds like the ultimate luxury fantasy, but there are many budget sailing options if you don’t happen to have your own yacht. ;)  I took a budget sailing trip – 8 people to a 50′ yacht.  It was close quarters, but still a fun experience. Highlights were swimming out in the middle of the Mediterranean (right off the boat!) and pulling up alongside Russian mega yachts in-port. Ahh, the sailing life.
5. Windsurfing & biking: Several islands in Greece are world renowned kitesurfing and windsurfing locations.  Since I was on a budget, I didn’t want to take the $230 6-hour windsurfing class in Naxos. I asked if they had any deals or intro classes and ended up getting a 2-hour lesson for $13! Add in my bike rental of 3 euros a day and I was sporting it up at a bargain.
6. Wine: Ouzo is most often associated with all things Greek, but Greece is also a booming wine region, (very little of which is exported to the US or Canada).  Santorini has countless wineries and tours and is best known for their white wines. When in Greece, order the house white wine, it’s bound to be delicious and local. Opa!
7. Small town friendliness: On some of the less touristy islands in the Cyclades, you feel like you could rent a room and accidentally stay for a few years. Naxos and Paros are generally skipped by the cruises and party crowd, so there’s a different sense of friendliness from the locals. A local in Santorini asked, “Why are you going to Naxos? It’s very quiet there, nothing to do. At night, not busy, no people out!” Excellent, I like quiet.
8. Athens: Athens often gets a bad rap for being dull in a “if you have 5 hours, that’s enough to see all the sights in Athens” sort of way. It’s a very walkable city though and – when they’re not rioting – a fun place to spend about 2 days.  See the Acropolis and museums and enjoy being immersed in ancient history.
9. Food, food, food: Fact: The Greeks know food – amazing fish, gyros, Greek salad, feta cheese, kalamata olives,  bread, olive oil, meze, sadziki,  saganaki, spanakopita, mousaka, dolmades, souvlaki, free ouzo with dinner, Greek yogurt and honey, gelato, nutella crepes… I ate really well in Greece. I was quite happy being a pescatarian in Greece and not a strict vegetarian.
10. Affordability: Greece is incredibly affordable, especially if you travel in the shoulder seasons (spring or fall).  Greece gets the stereotype of being “European” expensive, but I spent less money per day than I did in Australia, Turkey, or Hawaii. As long as you stay clear of Mykonos, you’ll find budget options all through the Cyclades islands. I paid 20 Euros/night for a single room with a balcony and A/C in Naxos, add in your 3 Euro bike rental, 2 Euro gyro, 2 Euro gelato… and you’re on a budget path to luxury living!

Now you have 10 new reasons to visit Greece.  Dust off that passport and start searching for flights!  I found fares leaving in September for ATH from $571 (from NYC, LAX, CHI, HOU & PDX).